by Brian Lawrence

If you’re a wedding planner in New Jersey, showing up in the Google “Map Pack” can be the difference between steady inquiries and radio silence. Couples rarely scroll past the top three listings, especially when they’re searching for things like “wedding planners near me,” “New Jersey day-of coordinator,” “wedding planning services in Bergen County,” or “best NJ wedding planners.” Your Google Maps visibility directly impacts how many local couples discover you and whether they even make it to your website.

The good news? Wedding planning businesses actually have a unique advantage in Google Maps. You’re service-based, hyper-local, and tied to real, physical venues all across the state. With the right optimization, you can signal to Google that you’re relevant for dozens of local NJ searches, from Hoboken to Princeton to Asbury Park.

Let’s break down the steps that help New Jersey wedding planners rank higher in Google Maps clearly, simply, and in a way you can actually put into action this week.

Complete and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the foundation of your map rankings. Think of it as your storefront window. A fully completed and regularly updated listing tells Google, “We’re active, we’re legitimate, and we serve couples in this exact area.”

Here’s how wedding pros should optimize specifically:

Use a High-Intent Business Category

Primary category: Wedding Planner

Secondary categories (optional but helpful depending on your services):

• Event Planner
• Party Planner
• Bridal Consultant
• Event Coordinator

Avoid niche categories that don’t match your core service. Your primary category heavily influences your ranking.

Add All Service Areas You Actually Serve

Wedding planners often travel, especially in a dense state like NJ. Use the service-area field to list relevant regions, such as:

• North Jersey
• Bergen County
• Morris County
• Monmouth County
• Jersey Shore
• South Jersey

You can also include specific towns: Paramus, Ridgewood, Princeton, Red Bank, Westfield, and so on. This helps you appear in local searches without needing a physical office in each place.

Write a Description That Reflects NJ Weddings

Include:

• Your specialties
• Types of events
• Geo-keywords
• Popular NJ venues you serve

Example:
“You can find us coordinating weddings across New Jersey, from elegant estate venues in Princeton to waterfront celebrations along the Jersey Shore.”

Google reads and indexes this.

Use Services + Service Descriptions

Don’t skip this. List everything you offer:

• Full-service planning
• Partial planning
• Day-of coordination
• Micro-weddings
• Timeline creation
• Vendor management
• Rehearsal coordination

Each service field lets you add a description. Use it!

Keep Hours and Contact Info Perfectly Accurate

Citations depend on exact matching (more on that later). Make sure your NAP (name, address, phone) is consistent everywhere.

Location Pages: Create Landing Pages for NJ Towns & Venues

This is one of the most overlooked ranking strategies for wedding businesses in New Jersey.

Google Maps doesn’t just rely on your listing;  it looks at your website content. If you want to rank in the Map Pack for “wedding planner Hoboken,” then your site should have a page that actually mentions Hoboken.

Why This Matters

Wedding planners don’t just serve one location. You serve dozens of towns and venues, and each of those represents a potential ranking opportunity.

What to Include on Each Location Page

Pick towns where you want visibility and create a page for each. Examples:

• Wedding Planner in Hoboken, NJ
• Wedding Planning Services in Ridgewood, NJ
• Day-of Coordinator for Princeton, NJ Weddings
• Red Bank NJ Wedding Planner
• Jersey Shore Wedding Planning Services

On each page, include:

• An intro about weddings in that town
• Local venues you’ve worked at or love
• Favorite photo spots
• Local vendors you collaborate with
• A short paragraph linking back to your main services

Most importantly, write custom content. Don’t copy/paste the same template. Google will know.

Bonus Tip: Venue Pages

If you work repeatedly at New Jersey venues, these are SEO gold. Create a page like:

• “Crystal Plaza Wedding Planner”
• “Park Château Estate Wedding Coordinator”
• “Liberty House Wedding Planning Guide”

Couples search for venues first, then look for planners who know those venues well. Ranking here leads to extremely high-intent inquiries.

Citations and Directory Consistency: Build Local Trust Signals

Citations are simply directory listings (mentions of your business name, address, and phone number across the internet). For Google Maps, consistency matters more than quantity.

If your business name looks like this in one place:

“Everlasting Events NJ”

…and like this somewhere else:

“Everlasting Events, LLC”

Google sees that as inconsistent.

Start with the Big Wedding Directories

These matter for wedding pros and support local relevance:

• The Knot
• WeddingWire
• Zola
• PartySlate

Make sure:

• Your business name matches your Google profile
• Your phone number is consistent
• You use the same website URL everywhere

Add Local NJ Directories

These help establish state-level authority:

• NJ.com business directory
• Jersey Shore Chamber listings
• Local Patch listings
• NorthJersey.com business directory
• County or municipal business directories

Don’t Forget General Directories

These still matter for NAP consistency:

• Yelp
• Bing Places
• Apple Maps
• Better Business Bureau
• YellowPages
• Foursquare

This step takes time, but it strengthens your entire Google Maps profile.

Get Reviews Strategically: Where & How to Ask Post-Wedding

Reviews are one of the strongest ranking factors in Google Maps—especially for wedding services. But they must be steady, recent, and specific.

When to Ask

The best time is within 48–72 hours after the wedding or after delivering the final timeline or gallery if you’re working with vendors. Couples are still riding the high of the day, and it’s easier for them to remember details of your work.

Where to Get Reviews

Prioritize:

1. Google – Most important for Maps visibility.
2. The Knot / WeddingWire – Great for social proof but not for Google Maps ranking.
3. Facebook – Optional but helpful.

Google should be your main goal.

How to Ask Without Feeling Salesy

Send a message like:

“Thank you again for trusting me with your wedding. If you have a minute, your review would mean the world to me and would help other NJ couples find a planner they can trust.”

Always include your direct review link.

Encourage Detail

Google likes keywords in reviews. You don’t need to tell clients what to write, but small prompts help:

• Mention the town or venue
• Mention the type of service (day-of, partial planning, etc.)
• Mention your responsiveness, coordination, or problem-solving

These keywords naturally improve your relevance for local searches.

Photos and Posts: Keep Your Google Listing Visually and Actively Engaging

Photos and posts play a bigger role in Google Maps than most wedding planners realize. Google wants to show businesses that are active, real, and continually serving clients.

Add Photos Consistently

Upload weekly or monthly, even if it’s just behind-the-scenes or flat lays. Prioritize:

• Photos from NJ venues
• Detail shots (bouquets, signage, invitations)
• Venue exteriors
• You and your team in action
• Table layouts
• Bridal prep and décor

Geotagging is no longer required, but the location context (venue names, signage, landscapes) helps Google understand your relevance.

Use Google Posts Like a Mini-Blog

Google Posts stay on your profile, reinforcing activity and keywords. Ideas:

• “Winter weddings in North Jersey: What to expect”
• “Planning a rustic fall wedding at a NJ barn venue”
• “What couples should know about Park Château timelines”
• “A sneak peek from last weekend’s Asbury Park wedding”

These posts don’t need to be long, just useful and locally focused.

Use the Offers or Updates Section

You can highlight:

• Open calendar dates
• Seasonal planning specials
• New services
• Bridal show appearances
• Wedding expo recaps

Fresh content leads to better engagement and stronger ranking signals.

Ranking your wedding planning business in Google Maps isn’t about beating the algorithm. It’s about creating a clear, trustworthy, hyper-local online presence that matches the way NJ couples actually search.

Google has hundreds of reasons to move you higher in the Map Pack.

And the higher you rank, the more couples find you.

Turn Google Maps Visibility into Real Wedding Inquiries

If you want help optimizing your Google Business Profile, building NJ location pages, or creating a long-term local SEO strategy that actually books couples, let’s talk. We specialize in SEO for wedding planners and wedding professionals, so your marketing works as hard as you do.